Syria: bitternes foes weigh up opportunity of peace, but prepare for war to rage on

Scepticism towards agreement between Aleppos opposition groups is strong, particularly over insisting that al-Qaida elements must be weeded out

Inside east Aleppo, talk of ways to bring a lasting peace were long ago discounted. On the eve of the latest bargain being carried out by Russia and the US to bring pacify to a five-year war, those trying to oust Bashar al-Assad in the opponent half of the city are now more sceptical than ever.

The pact, announced by Moscow and Washington late on Friday, aims to ease in a ceasefire, mainly by phasing out attacks by Russian and Syrian airplanes, which have pounded opponent regions for most of the past year, and allowing in desperately needed assist supplies.

While a potential objective to the bombings was welcomed by militants inside the city, mistrust has remained about the caveats particularly an insistence that al-Qaida-linked components be extricated from more mainstream rebels for much of the bargain to kick in.

Jabhat Fateh al-Sham[ the renamed jihadi group Jabhat al-Nusra] are among us, that is true, told Dawood Mahmudi, a senior rebel based in east Aleppo. They are here because no one else is. They have maintained the city open and have reopened it when it was besieged. Where were Russia and the US then? Ill tell you where, the US was nowhere, and Russia was bombing us. And now they say trust us.

Trust among all participants in Syrias war has apparently never been lower. In Damascus, still a stronghold of the Syrian chairwoman, there was little faith on Saturday that rebel groups would honour elements of the deal to disavow extremism. A lawyer from the Mezze neighbourhood of the Syrian capital, who called himself Abu Kareem, said: They have been in our midst for the past three years. They are on our doorsteps, sending mortars and bombers at us. These are the so-called moderates.

Even among the major powers themselves, there was a palpable sense that the ceasefire would be difficult to implement. Much of it hinges on Moscows ability to rein in the Assad regime, and particularly to convince officials to allow aid to get to besieged areas. Syrian leaders have consistently used starvation sieges as weapons of war throughout the conflict, despite protests from the UN and western governments.

The methods have proved effective, with remaining opposition fighters and communities from the Damascus enclave of Darraya surrendering in late August, with many agreeing to be moved to Idlib. Earlier sieges in Homs and Zabadani had fulfilled similar ends.

If it suffers in the working day that are consistent with the three-day Eid al-Adha holiday, which starts on Monday, Russia and the US have pledged to establish a control room in which bombing targets will be jointly agreed. It will also be used to prevent Syrian jets from assaulting areas that are part of the agreed truce.

By changing its name in July and severing overt links to al-Qaida, al-Nusra tried to reposition itself as a Syrian patriot group that might be accepted as a legitimate entity within the opposition. Those schemes were quickly dashed when Washington added the renamed group to its list of proscribed terror organisations. US officials continue to believe that some elements of it are employing the chaos of Syria to plan attacks in Europe and beyond.

The staunch posture against the jihadis is lost on some senior rebels. So, assuming[ the truce] does hold over the festival, how can anyone take them on their word to allow supplies into Aleppo? asked Mahmudi. We are blocked from both objectives. The only people that have managed to open these roads for us are Nusra and[ opposition group] Ahrar al-Sham. Now one of them is supposed to be our foe, and the other group were supposed to be sure about.

Bombing us indiscriminately, and with total impunity, has stimulated these people strong. Does no one understand that?

Russian tactics, since it began its full-scale involvement in support of Assad, have been to bomb opposition-held communities, while claiming to be attacking the Islamic State terror group. The US had previously accused Moscow of bombing rebel groups that it had supported in the war, paying little attention to Isis stances, to the east of Aleppo and spreading to the terror groups Syrian heartland of Raqqa.